Method to draw one or several threads of a loom through each interstice in a reed, and an apparatus thereto



Aprll 2, 1963 s. s. c. FLEISCHER 3,083,433

METHOD TO DRAW ONE OR SEVERAL THREADS OF A LOOM THROUGH EACH INTERSTICE IN A REED, AND AN APPARATUS THERETO Filed Sept. 2, 1960 METHOD T DRAW GNE QR SEVERAL THREADS OF A 1.00M THRQUGHEACH INTERSTHCE IN A REED, AND AN APPARATUS THERETQ V Svend Sigurd Christie Fleischer, Klampenhor'g, Denmark H. B. Wilson and (10., 660 F St. NW., Washington 4, DC.)

Filed Sept. 2, 1260, Ser. No. 53,723 6 Claims. (Cl. 255-45) The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for drawing one or several threads of a loom through each interstice in the reed.

In methods to this effect it is known to draw the thread through the reed by means of a hook which is inserted into an interstice between the teeth of the reed and withdrawn together with the thread whereupon the hook is transported along the reed by a step of invariable length to be inserted into the next interstice. This method suffers from the defect that the teeth of the reed may be spaced unequally or bent in one or another direction, thus, by moving in invariable steps the hook, after a certain number of operations will be facing the wrong interstice.

The above mentioned disadvantage is eliminated by an important feature of this invention consisting of a method according to which the hook is inserted into an interstice in the reed, whereupon the hook carrying apparatus is set in travelling motion to advance along the reed, causing the hook first to be forced against the first coming tooth, and then to be turned or swung out of its original position as the apparatus only comes to a'halt after having continued to advance a distance equal to the thickness of a tooth plus the thickness of the hook itself.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide for means permitting the apparatus to be startedon its travelling motion by the operator while the continued motion and the stoppage is automatically etfectuated. This method gives the operator time to find and attach the correct thread or threads to the hook. Further features will be apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings,- in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of the apparatus in partial section; V I

FIG. 2 shows a section along the line II-IIin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the apparatus from above;

FIG. 4 shows a section alongthe line IIII-IIII in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 shows a detail in partial section; and

FIG. 6 shows a section along the line VIVI in FIG. -5.

The apparatus comprises a traveling carriage or housing 1 in which most of the moving parts are arranged. Housing 1 has wheels 2 and 3 to travel on rails 4 and 5; The rails are mounted on a stand or support which'is not shown. From rail 4 rise two supports 6 with clamps 7 to hold the block or frame of the reed 8. Said stand also carries a stationary screw threaded bar 9. The moving parts of the apparatus derive their locomotion from a constantly running electric motor 10. The latter rotates a shaft or axle 11 which has bearings in the opposite ends of the housing 1, as shown in FIG. 1. Freely rotatable in axle 11 is a toothed gear wheel 12 which has at the ends of its hub portion clutch flanges 17 and 18. Gear 12 is in mesh with a gear 13' fixed to a hollow shaft 14'that surrounds the screw rod 9. Shaft 14 has bearings in the lower portion of housing 1, as seen in FIG. 4 and on its manual engagement and disengagement of the nut 15 to or from the threaded bar 9. 19 is a magnetic clutch which rotates with shaft 11 and coacts with flange 17 to drive gear 12. 20 is a stationary magnetic clutch which coacts ice with flange 18 to brake or stop-the rotation of that gear and hence brake or stop the travel of the carriage or housing. Clutch 20 is fixed to a tubular rod 21 through which shaft 11 extends and which is fixed to one endof housing 1, as seen in FIG; 1. At the termination of every advancement of the housing clutch 19 releases flange 17' and clutch 20 simultaneously engages flange 18, and thus firmly holds the housing in its new position, as hereinafter described.

Extending through one end of the housing is a rotatable shaft or axle 26 which has fixed to its inner end a lever arm 27 and to its outer end a hollow rocker member 25. The swinging movement of rocker 25 is adapted to project a hook 22 through an interstice or space between'two ad'- jacent reed elements or teeth of the reed 8 and to withdraw the hook. As shown in FIG. 5, hook22 forms one arm of a substantially right angular lever arm 23, the other arm of which is fixed to the projecting outer end of ashaft or pivot 24 which extends through and is rotatable in the hollow rocker. Fixed to pivot 24 within the rocker is a lever arm 36, which as seen in FIG. 6, is'held against a stop by a coil spring 37. It will be notedthat the two arms 23 and 36 with the pivot 24, form an angular lever with a central or intermediate pivot. on the arm 36 of this two-arm lever is an electrical contact 42 which coacts with a Contact 43 on an adjustable lever 39 located in the hollow rocker and pivoted at 38. A coil spring 40 actuates lever 39 to move contact 43' toward contact 42 and normally holds lever 39 in engagement with a set screw 41 by means of which the gap between the'icont acts may be varied. It'is this gap which determines theiength of the distance travelled by the apparatus at each operational step.

The lever 27 on pivot 26 of the rocker is held-by a coil spring 28 againsta cam 290m a rotary shaft 30 which hasone end journalled in the adjacent end wall of the housing 1. The other end of shaft 30 is hollow-and rotatably receives and supports one end of an axially alined shaft 33, the other end of shaft 33 being journalled in the adjacent endofthe housing 1, as shown in FIG. 1. Fixed to shaft 33 is .atoothed'gear 32 which mesheswith a gear 31 fixed to the constantly rotating shaft 11. Also carried by shaft 33 is a magnetic clutch 34 that coacts'with a clutch flange 35 fixed to the adjacent hollow end of shaft 30. As seen'inFIG. 2, cam 29 on shaft 30 has a high portion and a-low portion, the high portion moving lever 27 to swing the rocker away from thereed -S; and; the low portion permitting the spring 28 to swing-the rocker toward the reed and project the hook 22 into aninterstice thereof. The constantly rotating magnetic clutch device 3435 is activated to drive the shaft 30 by cIoSing a switch 50 by means of a manually operated lever or actuater 51, these parts being mounted onan upwardly swingable member 44- pivoted at 45 on an upright support or post 46 which rises from the top of the housing; A stop pin 47 on a part of the member 44 engagesthe sup-i port 46 to regulate the inclination of that'member in; relation to the reed 8; and rails 48 and 49 -are stepwise related to each other and serve the operator in keeping: order among the threads of the loom.

When switch 5ti is closed to cause clutch 34-to grip; flange 35, shaft 30 will-start to rotate. On shaft 3tl1is another cam '52 which activates a relay 53 to maintain;

the grip of the clutch 34.: When cam 29 permits spring-28' to swinglever 2:7 upwardly, the rocker will be moved toward the reed 8, thereby moving the hook 22 from an initialposition and inserting it into an interstice. On shaft 34} is a third cam 54 which activatesarelay-55that causes magnetic clutch 19' to engage its flange-17, andthus start the advancement of the apparatus. The movement oftlie' to thrust against that tooth so that the hook and lever arm I 23 swing laterally or turn around the pivot axis 24 so that the other arm 36 of the two-arm lever will move the contact 42 into engagement with the contact 43 to, activate relay 56. The latter will then disengage the driving clutch 19 to stop the driving of the housing and simultaneously engage the brake clutch 26' causing the apparatus to stop and to be magnetically locked.

After the operator has placed a warp thread on the hook 22, he again operates switch lever 51 to make shaft 36 rotate. This time cam 29 will press against lever 27 to swing rocker away from the reed 3 to withdraw the hook and pull the thread through the interstice. The thread may then be removed from the hook by a finger 57 on a rotating disk ES. The latter, as seen in'FIG. 4, is on a shaft 61 rotatable in a bearing bracket on housing 1 and having a gear 60 in mesh with a gear 59 on the projecting end of the shaft 30. As hook 22 is withdrawn from the interstice, the turning force hitherto exerted on it is removed, thus permitting spring 37 to turn the two-arm lever about pivot 24 and move the hook into its original projected position but with the hook exactly in front of the next interstice of the reed.

It is believed the operation of the apparatus will be clear from the foregoing but it may be pointed out that the operator, after positioning the housing with the hook alined with an interstice in the clamped reed, must operate the switch to cause clutch 34 to be activated to rotate shaft 30. 7 Cam 29 will then permit spring 23 to actuate lever 27 and rocker 25 to the position shown in PEG. 2 to project the hook through an interstice. Cam 5?. will then operate relay 53 to continue the activation of clutch 34 when the switch lever is released. The continued rotation of shaft 36 causes its cam 54 to operate relay 55 which activates clutch 19 to start movement of the housing. As the latter moves, hook 22 by its engagement with a reed tooth will be swung laterally on pivot 24 to cause the contacts 42 and 43 to engage and energize relay 56 so that the housing driving clutch 19 will release gear 12 and simultaneously brake clutch will be actuated to stop further movement of the housing 1 and lock it. After the hook has been projected through the interstice, the operator can engage a thread with the hook, The operator must then again operate switch 50 to cause cam 29 to move lever 27 and thus swing rocker away from the reed to withdraw the hook which pulls the thread through the interstice. The operator may then remove the thread from the hook or that may be done by the finger S7.

What is claimed is:

1. A method to draw one or several threads of a loom through interstices in a reed, employing a travelling apparatus which carries a hook to be inserted in the interstices of the reed, comprising performing the method in two stages, namely, first projecting the hook from an initial position into an interstice and keeping it there while the apparatus is set in motion to advance until the hook colliding with the first coming tooth of the reed is swung back out of its original projected position as the apparatus continues its motion for a distance corresponding to the thickness of a tooth plus the thickness of the hook, the apparatus then coming to a belt, and a second stage in which the hook is provided with a thread or threads and then withdrawn, taking the threads with it through the reed, the hook then regaining its initial position thereby being disposed in front of the next interstice in the reed. v

2. The method according to claim 1, comprising starting the movement of the apparatus by an operator and having it continue and stop automatically.

3. A method of threading a loom reed employing a travelling apparatus movable along the reed and carrying a laterally turnable hook spring actuated in one direction; said method comprising the steps of projecting the hook from an initial position into an interstice between adjoining teeth of the reed, then moving the apparatus a distance corresponding to the thickness of a reed tooth plus the thickness of the hook and then stopping the movement of the apparatus after the projected hook has been swung laterally and placed under tension by its engagement with a tooth, applying a thread to the projected hook, and finally retracting the hook from the interstice to pull the thread through the latter, the hook then regaining its initial position but being disposed in front of the next interstice of the reed.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a travelling carriage movable longitudinally of a reed block, a rocker member on the carriage movable toward and from the reed block, a hook to be projected into an interstice between the teeth of the reed, lever means pivotally mounting said hook on said rocker member for lateral swinging movement, spring means associated with said lever means for swinging said hook in one direction, an adjustable spring actuated lever on said rocker member, coacting electrical contacts on said lever and said lever means, a stationary screw threaded bar disposed parallel with the line of travel of said carriage, a continuously driven electric motor on said carriage, a hollow shaft surrounding said threaded bar and journalled on said carriage, nut means on said shaft and threaded bar to cause the carriage to travel when said shaft is rotated, a power shaft on said carriage driven by said motor, gearing controlled by magnetic clutch means for driving said tubular shaft from said power shaft, a cam shaft on saidtcarriage, gearing controlled by magnetic clutch means for driving said cam shaft from said power shaft, a manually operated electric switch supported from said carriage for controlling the driving clutch means of the gearing for said cam shaft, a spring actuated lever arm on said carriage for swinging said rocker member, a cam on said cam shaft for moving said spring actuated lever arm, a second cam on said cam shaft coacting with a relay to continue to activate the magnetic clutch means of the gearing driving said cam shaft, a stationary mag netic brake clutch means associated with said gearing driving said tubular shaft, a third cam on said cam shaft associated with a relay to activate the driving clutch of the gearing for said tubular shaft, and an additional relay on said carriage activated when said coacting contacts are engaged by the swinging movement of the hook to simultaneously reactivate the driving clutch of the gearing for said tubular shaft and activate said brake clutch means associated with such gearing.

5. A method of threading a loom reed without applying a bending strain on the teeth of the reed by employing a traveling apparatus movable along the reed and carrying a turnable hook that is swingable laterally with respect to the teeth and is spring actuated in one direction; said method comprising the steps of projecting the hook from an initial position into an interstice between adjoining teeth of the reed without applying a bending strain to either of the adjoining teeth, then applying an external force to move the apparatus a distance corresponding to the thickness of a reed tooth plus the thickness of the hook, then positively stopping the movement of the apparatus after the projected hook has been swung laterally and placed under tension by its engagement with one of the teeth, applying a thread to the projected hook, and finally retracting the hook, while under tension, from the interstice :to pull the thread through the latter, the hook then regaining its initial position but being disposed in front of the next interstice of the reed.

' 6. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a traveling carriage movable longitudinally of a reed block, a rocking member, means pivotally mounting said member on said carriage to swing toward and from the teeth of the reed, a swingable hook to be projected rough the interstices of the reed, means pivotally mounting said hook on said member for lateral swinging movement transversely of the teeth of the reed, whereby when said member is swung to project the hook into an interstice and the carriage is moved longitudinally of the reed, the hook will be turned laterally on'its pivotal mounting 5 6 by its engagement with a reed tooth, spring means associriage after the hook has been turned laterally to a preated with said hook mounting means to resist the lateral determined extent.

turning movement of the hook, manually controlled power driven means for moving said member to project the References cued m the file of this patent hook into an interstice and then moving said carriage to 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS cause an engaged tooth of the reed to turn the hook 786,515 Pernot et al Apr. 4-, 1905 laterally on its pivotal mounting against the tension of 907,898 Schuler et a1 Dec. 29, 1908 said spring means, and means associated With said power 945,022. Dietz Jan. 4, 1910 driven means for stopping further movement of the car- 2,707,317 Mackay May 3, 1955 

1. A METHOD TO DRAW ONE OR SEVERAL THREADS OF A LOOM THROUGH INTERSTICES IN A REED, EMPLOYING A TRAVELLING APPARATUS WHICH CARRIES A HOOK TO BE INSERTED IN THE INTERSTICES OF THE REED, COMPRISING PERFORMING THE METHOD IN TWO STAGES, NAMELY, FIRST PROJECTING THE HOOK FROM AN INITIAL POSITION INTO AN INTERSTICE AND KEEPING IT THERE WHILE THE APPARATUS IS SET IN MOTION TO ADVANCE UNTIL THE HOOK COLLIDING WITH THE FIRST COMING TOOTH OF THE REED IS SWUNG BACK OUT OF ITS ORIGINAL PROJECTED POSITION AS THE APPARATUS CONTINUES ITS MOTION FOR A DISTANCE CORRESPONDING TO THE THICKNESS OF A TOOTH PLUS THE THICKNESS OF THE HOOK, THE APPARATUS THEN COMING TO A HALT, AND A SECOND STAGE IN WHICH THE HOOK IS PROVIDED WITH A THREAD OR THREADS AND THEN WITHDRAWN, TAKING THE THREADS WITH IT THROUGH THE REED, THE HOOK THEN REGAINING ITS INITIAL POSITION THEREBY BEING DISPOSED IN FRONT OF THE NEXT INTERSTICE IN THE REED. 